W♥M

News for the Week of 3/16/2008

Yes - Owner Of A Lonely Heart Yes Press Release YES Returns For 40th Anniversary North American Tour http://weheartmus... NEW YORK, NY, MARCH 20th, 2008 -- With a remarkable 40 year career that has time and again redef...

This is the weekly news round up for the week of 3/16. I usually try and get these out on Sunday, but obviously that doesn't always happen. Also, sometime the weekly news isn't all that interesting (at least to me), so it's hard to to compile at least three items to talk about.

Thankfully, we got some great items to talk about. As usual, all these stories can be accessed via press.weheartmusic.com. If you have news announcements (and especially if we've already mention your band), please send them to [email protected].

80s prog rockers YES have returned with a 26 date tour. Below is an excerpt from the press release, for further information (including all the dates) head over to YES Returns For 40th Anniversary North American Tour:

With a remarkable 40 year career that has time and again redefined the boundaries of rock, musical pioneers YES have announced 2008 tour dates to take place this summer. Marking the first national tour for the band in over five years, the 26 date jaunt will bring the iconic band’s virtuosic musicianship and exhilarating live shows to amphitheatres and arenas across North America. The tour will kick off July 12th in Quebec City and wrap-up on August 22nd in Los Angeles.

I wanted to add that YES, The Police, Mister Mister, The Eagles, Michael Jackson, Phil Collins/Genesis, and U2, were basically what I grew up on :)

I just can't believe the band's been together for 40 years!

Tour Dates 03/21 Tampa, FL @ Crowbar 03/22 Jacksonville, FL @ TSI 03/24 Atlanta, GA @ Earl 03/25 Washington, DC @ DC 9 03/26 Philadelphia, PA @ Northstar Bar 03/27 Toronto, ON @ TBD 03/28 Montreal, PQ @ Zoobizare 03/29 Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg 03/30 New York, NY @ Highline Ballroom 04/02 Leeds, UK @ Josephs Well 04/03 Manchester, UK @ Roadhouse 04/04 Birmingham, UK @ Rainbow 04/05 Liverpool, UK @ Evol 04/07 Brighton, UK @ Hector's House 04/08 London, UK @ Buffalo Bar 04/26 Wellington, UK @ New Zealand Bush Buds Festival

 

Die! Die! Die! - Sideways, Here We Come

Die! Die! Die!

I wanted to mention that New Zealand's Die! Die! Die! are currently on tour. We have the album for review, it's just I've been very busy (currently reviewing debut albums over at ♫ew music), so I wanted to at least mention their tour dates before their last date in America (3/20).

These rock n roller lads are said to have the spirit of Black Flag and the Pixies on their stage pressence, so be sure to check them. I'm going to request to have Ryan review them on one of the UK date, so cross your fingers.

Of the song titles that I scanned, I thought "Sideways, Here We Come" might be a nod to The Smiths' Strangeways, Here We Come (which in turn was a nod to Billy Liar's "Borstal, here we come" quote).

Listening to the song, I didn't detect any Morrisseyness :( - but that may not be a bad thing.

See Die! Die! Die! is on tour for more details.

Lair of the Minotaur - War Metal Battle Master Lair of the Minotaur Press Release LAIR OF THE MINOTAUR.... coming to your town to burn it to the ground http://weheartmus... Lair of the Minotaur - War Metal Battle Master from weheartmusic.com Lair of the Minotaur announc...

Lair of the Minotaur adds even more detail of destruction!

Live4Metal said:

Storming out of the gates with a dirty combination of thrash laden doom similar to that of High On Fire, and old school death metal reminiscent of Bolt Thrower, but with considerably less polish, War Metal Battle Master is a ferocious album from start to finish.

They're starting out on tour in the midwest, then to the East Coast with The Ocean, Kylesa, and Withered (in May), and by June, they'll be making their way to California with The Ocean and Intronaut:

06/12/2008 Clubhouse - Tempe, AZ
06/13/2008 Audie’s Olympic - Fresno, CA
06/14/2008 Annie’s Social Club - San Francisco, CA
06/15/2008 Jumping Turtle - San Marcos, CA
06/16/2008 Downtown Brew - San Luis Obispo, CA
06/17/2008 Knitting Factory - Hollywood, CA

For the full tour dates, check out LAIR OF THE MINOTAUR.... coming to your town to burn it to the ground - and also be sure to read Soup's Lair of the Minotaur's Review.

 03/21/2008 00:03:34  vu my♥posts weheartmusic.com

Lair of the Minotaur

Lair of the Minotaur - War Metal Battle Master Lair of the Minotaur Tour Dates 03/18/08 Kuma’s Corner Chicago, IL 03/28/08 The Ritz Warren, Michigan[1] 03/29/08 Ravari Room Columbus, OH[1] 03/30/08 Peabody’s Pirate Cleveland, OH[1] 03/31/08 Melody Inn  Indianapolis, IN[1] 04/01/08 The Note Chicago, Illinois[1] 04/03/08 Mojo’s Columbia, Missouri[1] 04/04/08 Cactus Club Milwaukee, WI[1] 04/05/08 Triple Rock  Minneapolis, MN[1] 04/06/08 Vaudeville Mews Des Moines, IA[1] [1] w/ Today Is The Day, Mouth of the Architect and Complete Failure

So here's one for the headbangers among us. Chicago's Lair of the Minotaur are dropping their new album, War Metal Battle Master on March 25^th. Described as “a concept album about solving conflicts with a big fucking axe,” each of its eight tracks have been carefully engineered to split your skull with brutal thrash!

“Horde of Undead Vengeance” starts off the album in fine form. Fast, thrashy, with some definite death metal influence on the guitars, held together with surprisingly technical drumming, sludgy bass, and a good range of high and low vocals.

The obvious first single (for which the video is being premiered at a listening party in Chicago on March 8^th) comes next. “War Metal Battle Master” starts off fast and never lets up. The guitar riffs are reminiscent of a slightly rawer Mastodon, and the vocals go back and forth between lows and highs in a sort of call and response with themselves. Even at three and a half minutes, this track feels incredibly epic.

“When the Ice Giants Slayed All” recalls Master of Puppets era Metallica. Slightly (but only slightly) slower than the first two tracks, but just as heavy, with plenty of sludge to give weight to the track's three minutes.

The vocals really shine on “Slaughter the Bestial Legion” with more call and response between the lows and the highs. This is also the longest track on the album so far at a little over five minutes. The little bit of extra time goes a long way toward giving the track that epic feel that this band creates so well. The head-crushing breakdown at the end is pretty wicked.

This is followed up by a shorter track, “Black Viper Barbarian Clan,” highlighted, appropriately, by serpentine guitar lines and spastic drumming that almost sounds punk rock in places. Throw in a few time changes, and some of the best vocals on the record, and more of that sludgy-ass bass, and you've got one a stand-out track.

Next is “Assassins of the Cursed Mist,” which is just slightly longer than “Slaughter the Bestial Legion.” Most of the track kinda sticks to mid-tempo, catchy riffing, and more sludge, occasionally breaking down to a bass and guitar drone to catch its breath. The last minute makes this song for me, with the guitar highlighting a slight tunefulness in the vocals.

Next is the album's centerpiece. “Doomtrooper” is an almost ten minute, sludgy, doom epic, starting out with an atmospheric keyboard (at least, I think it's a keyboard) before the band comes in, slower and sludgier than anywhere else on the album. The pinch harmonics on the guitar, while pretty common on every other track here, really get the spotlight here, as does the lower end of the vocals, and the actual skill of the drummer, and that awesome punchy bass sound. Six minutes in, it breaks down to just a guitar, joined by another guitar, followed by the rest of the band, and a more aggressive couple verses. Then they bring it back around, break it down, and end the song with the same sludge that started it. This is definitely my favorite track on here.

It leads directly into “Hades Unleashed,” which opens with a guitar line reminiscent of Iron Maiden, and then it's out the gates with a Slayer-like aggression on the vocals and guitars, interspersed with sludgy riffing and lyrics about the apocalypse! A fitting end. Almost every song on this album is a miniature epic on its own, and even at a svelte forty minutes, the sheer sludge gives it the weight of an album twice as long.

This album comes out on Southern Lord on March 25^th, three days before the band heads out on a US tour with Today is the Day, Mouth of the Architect, and Complete Failure, followed by a European tour. There's a listening party at Kuma's Corner in Chicago on March 8^th, at 10 PM.

They'll be premiering the uncensored video for the first single there, and the limited edition version of the CD will be available for purchase. The CD will feature illustrations by Jeremy Mohler and a 20 page booklet with illustrations for each song (and hopefully lyrics, because they sound pretty cool, despite the fact that I don't have them in front of me as I'm writing this). This is a damn solid metal release, and I'd definitely say it's worth picking up, especially if thrashy death and doom influenced metal sounds like something you'd like.

 02/27/2008 08:57:18  soup my♥posts lairoftheminotaur.com myspace